Thoughts of a Modern-Day Mountain Man: A Field Guide to Leadership in the Great Outdoors Chapter 18

This is the eighteenth of a weekly blog series that will focus on leadership in the outdoors and how to get the most from the least. Even though the title is called, “Thoughts of a Modern-Day Mountain Man”, it will hopefully cover topics that are useful to everyone.

Chapter 18: Always look towards the Shinin’ times.

“Morning sun in the mountain meadow

Bathing the flowers in warmth and light

Created to give hope and life

All that is, eternally from the Light” - M.D.M.M.

In the mountain man’s time of yesteryear they had a common saying, which was to always look towards the Shinin’ times. This wasn’t just a reference to the times when the weather was great in the mountains with the warm mountain sun shining down and melting the ice off of the water to get the trapping season started, but a reference to when everything is simply right in the world on all accounts. Plentiful game to trap, good food, companionship of close friends, ample supplies, great weather and good spirits all-around, these were all hallmarks of the Shinin’ times. This sentiment could be used in a couple of different ways. The first way could be of the sentimental sort looking back on the glory days, or perhaps using this expression as a marketing term to recruit the next generation of mountain men by describing how good life could be in the mountains. The second, and undoubtedly most important way to use this term was to have something to look forward to based on former experiences of great times and things.

In a later chapter I will discuss the necessary and essential outdoor skills and mindset to see you through tough times in the great outdoors. The greatest and most important of all of these is P.M.A.-Positive Mental Attitude. So much of what we do and experience is dictated by our mental approach and the ability to adapt to a given set of circumstances. If we can keep our P.M.A. there is much that can be accomplished when times are tough. The mountain men of yesteryear would have used the expression of looking towards the Shinin’ times as a way to keep up morale and to convince themselves and their fellow mountaineer that while things are bad, they will get so much better.

There is something that will happen for certain if you choose to make working at an outdoor education center, camp program or guide service your profession, you will have tough times. This is unavoidable. In all my years of working at different camps and education programs this was one constant, there were going to be times when I would question why in the world I chose this career. Low pay, uncooperative co-workers, less than ideal living conditions, poor leadership from administration, seemingly impossible work hours and an ever changing agenda could make life very tough from day-to-day, season-to-season and year-to-year. At some places I worked the honeymoon phase of being a new employee would wear off very quickly and I would realize how much work and hardship was in front of me and my family. It was times like this where it could be exceedingly challenging to find anything positive in the here and now; I had to look towards the Shinin’ times to come.

Having worked at so many different places and programs throughout the years can be seen as both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because everytime I started working at a new place it brought new experiences, new knowledge and new skills to learn. It could be seen as a curse and a challenge to start over fresh everytime, uproot and move my family to a new place with new people and to have to re-establish my role with new staff and learn how to manage a new facility. Everytime my family and I have made a move to a new camp or program it has been out of the desire to continue our personal and professional growth and to continue our life-long mission in serving God in the camping ministry. This work history has allowed us to have the knowledge and experience to realize that a P.M.A. is essential for mental and physical well-being. Having little morale boosters or looking for the good in what we were doing has seen us through some tough times; personally, professionally and financially. Working to get back to the Shinin’ times at each new place has kept us motivated to carry on.

I have been able to go into many new roles knowing that I will be able to help the camp or program grow into an even greater program, or perhaps even build a strong foundation at a new program so that it can operate successfully for many years to come. My goal was always to make the program better when I left than when I arrived. This has almost always been the case, with a few failures thrown in for good measure. Having learned through positive experiences what did work and what could be perceived as Shinin’ times at many places allowed me to work through some tough times at places where things were very dysfunctional and problematic knowing that if the program could make some changes for the betterment of everyone, that there certainly would be Shinin’ times ahead. This was all done with the end goal of making the program grow and flourish.

The line between darkness and Light.

Another thing that will most certainly be found at any camp, conference center or education program that is operating well, is hard work. When you do find yourself in the scenario of questioning why you are doing this at all, besides simply looking towards the Shinin’ times to come, remember who you are ultimately working for with your camping ministry.

It is not often that we know exactly how a story will end, but this is not the case for Christians. We know how the story ends; we have real Shinin’ times to look forward to at the end of our arduous story on earth. Jesus is the Light and the Shinin’ times that will see us through the darkest of all of our days. Jesus never said it would be easy work, in fact He said the opposite, it will be very difficult. You will struggle, you will be heartbroken, you will have hard times and you will question your reason and purpose. These are the times when you need the best P.M.A and the ability to look towards Shinin’ times. Working in the outdoor education industry to teach people about the environment and the world around them is an admirable goal, but that should not be the simple end goal. Instead, the modern-day mountain man should use all of his or her skills and abilities to tell God’s story of His creation, share the love of Christ and the knowledge of the real Shinin’ times to come.